Today Was Hard On All Of Us
by allonsysilvertongue
Summary: Peter watched Tony Stark get stabbed by Thanos in Titan. "He didn't think he could ever forget this. He didn't think he could ever close his eyes and not see Thanos driving the blade into Mr. Stark's body. He didn't think it was something he could forget. Not the man and certainly not this horror."


_Title was taken from Yesterday Was Hard On All Of Us by Fink_

* * *

 _Peter watched Tony get stabbed by Thanos_

It had been Mr. Stark's plan to take the gauntlet off the Mad Titan – to cut him off from the source of his power – right after they learnt from Peter Quill on the way the power of the stones was actually being harnessed.

The rest of the details had been a culmination of many minds. Although, admittedly, Quill's plan for Mantis to be dropped down from one of Dr. Strange's portal straight on Thanos had been pretty cool. Peter didn't know exactly how they were going to pull it off but they had improvised as they went until they managed to get Thanos where they wanted and Dr. Strange had opened the portal with Mantis now sitting on Thanos' shoulders.

Running forward with his web slinging left and right, all four spider legs firmly planted on the rough terrain of Titan to provide him more leverage, Peter tugged and pulled on Thanos' arm and back.

"Parker, help," Mr. Stark called out. "Get over here."

He didn't need to be told twice. Peter stood next to his mentor, pulling and pulling and pulling on that damn gauntlet.

It was blowing his mind just how much the gauntlet was resisting their combined effort, as if it had a mind of its own which Peter knew to be _impossible_ but then again, he was in _space_ with the likes of Mantis and Nebula, so perhaps, his logic didn't really have a place here.

Grunting, Peter exerted all of his strength. Then it came, unbidden and without warning, a flashback of when he was trapped under the building. It had been the same - he had used all of his strength to get out of that collapsed building. His chest tightened, his breath hitched, his fingers lost its grip for a split second causing Mr. Stark to turn his way.

 _No, no, not now,_ he pushed the thoughts deep inside.

Now wasn't the time.

"We gotta open his fingers," Peter heaved, putting one leg against Thanos' hip to push as his hands pulled. He was sure that was the only way the gauntlet was still on – Thanos closing his fist on the gauntlet and possibly using one of the stones to keep it on.

Peter was aware that there was a whole brand of drama going on between Nebula, Quill and Thanos but he needed to stay focused. He tried to block them out until he could no longer ignore the way Mr. Stark had started to tense next to him from Quill's increasing agitation.

 _Focus, Parker, get this thing off. Nothing else matters._

 _Pull._

 _Pull._

 _Pull._

"Don't engage. We almost got this off."

He could hear and _feel_ Mr. Stark's desperation. This was the voice of a man who knew they only had this one shot, and if they failed, it could spell the end for all of them.

Peter was completely unprepared when Quill started to physically attack Thanos, more so when Mr. Stark let go of the gauntlet to stop Quill. Still, he didn't let that deter him. He knew Mr. Stark wouldn't want him to stop so he kept to the task at hand. He only had one job now – get the gauntlet.

The gauntlet came loose. Behind his mask, Peter blinked, surprised.

"It's coming, it's coming," he breathed, "I got it, I got it,"

Peter wriggled and pulled on it, and for the first time since they got here, he felt a surge of hope that things might swing in their favour.

Before he knew it, Thanos blinked his eyes, the haze had cleared and his gaze sharpened.

 _Oh shit, had he heard me?_

The hold Mantis had on him was broken and he gripped the gauntlet tight, snatching it back from Peter.

Peter watched Mantis flew into the air and he reacted instinctively, forgetting the gauntlet completely to go after her.

Things became a blur for him from then onwards.

He was somewhat aware of Mr. Stark facing off with Thanos, saw the purple giant pulling something from the sky down towards them and then the whole planet had shaken. It had been a mad rush to rein his new teammates in, to bring them all to safety before they could crash back to the ground.

His senses were dialed up at the same time, multiple stimuli bombarding him at every second. There were heart beats pulsating in every corner, not that he could identify to whom it belonged to. He heard fighting going on at the other side of the cursed planet and he briefly wondered if it was Mr. Stark, if his mentor was still standing against Thanos.

At that precise moment, he felt the same fear that had engulfed him as a young boy watching Mr. Stark with a missile on his back flying it into the black hole.

His gaze darted around, trying to locate the man.

He couldn't see Mr. Stark, so he cocked his head to the side, trying to _listen_.

There was Thanos, speaking and addressing Doctor Strange. He focused harder, trying to discern the noises he was hearing until he heard the familiar whir of the Iron Man armour drawing closer. Peter looked up, his gaze followed the figure straight across towards where Thanos was with the doctor.

Peter rose on his feet, determined to provide back up. He was an Avenger now and its leader would need all the assistance he could get. He wouldn't want to disappoint.

"You throw another moon at me and I'm going to lose it."

"Kid," Peter turned to see Quill looking at him. He was still at the same place Peter had dropped him with his head raised to take in his surroundings. "We'll make it right."

Peter gave a curt nod, moving forward automatically to help Quill up. He tried not to think of how Quill had lost control when he and Mr. Stark had very nearly gotten the gauntlet off. He supposed he couldn't really blame him no matter how much he wanted to resent the man because he understood. He had felt a sudden white hot rage when he saw a robber fleeing into the alleyway and then realised Uncle Ben was bleeding out on the street. Quill must have felt the same.

"Come on, Mr. Lord," Peter said, offering his hand to the man. "We still got a bit of fighting to do."

The man limped on his feet, gathering his fallen weapons. Peter really didn't have the time to wait for him to get his bearings because he could _hear_ the fighting becoming more intense. A few steps away from them Drax stirred, growling in pain under his breath.

"I gotta go and help Mr. Stark. Please make sure your friends are okay."

With that, he ran off only skidding to a stop to assess the situation the moment Mr. Stark came into view. Peter shot a web to one of the higher boulders, swinging himself up on it to try and get a better vantage point of the fight happening below. He was still too far away to be of much help.

Mr. Stark was holding his own, that much Peter could see.

Perched above them, Peter was completely enthralled to see the Iron Man suit forming around him smoothly and without a single glitch. Mr. Stark really was a genius, Peter trilled, as he watched the nanites obeying each of Mr. Stark's wordless command. He was of course aware that Mr. Stark was working on a cutting edge suit in his workshop. He had told Peter as much when he came by. Though, the memory of that conversation now felt so distant, as if it had happened a lifetime ago in a completely different world.

"Yes!" Peter whispered, docking that hit as a victory for them.

Mr. Stark had delivered a blow that had Thanos actually stop to wipe the blood off his cheek.

He moved closer, quietly and silently, so as not to get the attention of the other guy. He was trying to find an opening to drop in without completely putting Mr. Stark in danger. Spider-Man had always fight his fights alone in Queens and this was a different ball game altogether. He actually had teammates whose safety he would have to take into account. He couldn't just do the things he wanted to do. He couldn't just be impulsive. This was like decathlon.

 _Just like decathlon, Parker, with an insane purple judge – that's all._

He wished that it had been that easy to actually put a lid on the panic that had been swirling at the base of his sternum ever since they got to Titan. Below him, he watched the nanites from Mr. Stark's leg moved up to his arm, transforming itself into a dagger.

Peter crept closer, inching to the left.

"Karen," he whispered. "We have a no kill policy but I think this time, it's okay to use instant kill mode. Mr. Stark wouldn't have had it installed if he hadn't meant for it to be used in situation like this."

He waited. There was only silence.

 _Oh, right, we're in space._

It felt so lonely suddenly.

He moved to Thanos' left. It seemed strategic. Each time Thanos moved his hand, Peter would have a clear shot of the exposed left flank. Truth be told, he didn't really know what exactly instant kill was – a bomb? a grenade? Small dart with poison tip? Exploding web? - but Peter hoped it would aim straight for the heart or otherwise, the major artery on Thanos' thigh.

"Karen," he spoke, if only out of habit. He desperately wished for the familiar, soothing and gentle voice of his AI to answer. There was something calming about having her as a sounding board. "I'm going to try and get closer. We need to get instant kill ready so – No!"

Thanos had broken the blade off Mr. Stark's armoured hand and in one swift motion, it was embedded in Mr. Stark's abdomen going all the way straight through.

Peter was frozen where he was, unable to breathe, unable to comprehend what just happened.

Mr. Stark staggered backwards, looking up at Thanos in complete shock.

It was like Uncle Ben all over again.

Was he going to lose Mr. Stark the way he had lost Ben? Was he really going to lose someone else in his life?

The Spider-Man mask retreated to his neckline. Peter clutched his throat; a strangled noise of disbelief escaped his lips just as he felt his chest tightened in terror. He needed to breathe. He needed air. Mr. Stark had given him air when he sent the suit to him hours earlier. Mr. Stark had done that for him.

But Mr. Stark was _bleeding_ and _dying_.

 _'Pete, you gotta let go.'_

That was what he would have to do again, wasn't it? That was what you do when people die. You let them go.

 _No, no, no._

This couldn't be happening.

Not again. Not again.

This was his nightmare. He had nightmares of when he lost Ben. He had nightmares of losing May, and lately, that nightmare had included Mr. Stark, as well. Mr. Stark was… he was family even if Peter had never, could never tell his mentor that.

Thanos raised his hand. "I hope they remember you."

 _I will_ , Peter wanted to scream that out loud. He would have if he could actually breathe right now.

He didn't think he could ever forget this. He didn't think he could ever close his eyes and not see Thanos driving the blade into Mr. Stark's body. He didn't think it was something he could forget. Not the man and certainly not this horror.

Like a curse, Peter's hearing was already picking up on Mr. Stark's increasingly rapid heartbeat, vaguely aware that his human body was likely going into shock as his body hemorrhage from the wound. Was a human heart supposed to beat that fast? Peter didn't know. He didn't have the answer.

"Karen," he choked on his hands and knees as he crawled forward to get down to Mr. Stark. A part of his brain was asking him to swing down. Shoot a web, swing down. "Karen…Please, please tell me what to do. We gotta help, Mr. Stark."

"We're in the endgame now."

He pitched forward, losing his balance a little when Quill brushed past him, running forward in a last ditch attempt for Thanos.

Then just like that, the threat was gone. They were the only ones left.

He opened his mouth, forced air into his lungs. His head started to clear. The threat was gone. Thanos was gone. He could feel his hands and feet again.

"Mr. Stark," he scrambled down ruined boulders to get to his mentor. "I – "

The man looked at him and Peter saw the brief flash of terror in the man's eyes. He forced himself to keep his voice steady.

"You're okay," Peter whispered, unsure who he was trying to convince - himself or Mr. Stark. He grabbed the man by the elbow. His gaze briefly flitted down to the stab wound. All of the movies he had seen had thought him not to remove objects from the body, that the person would bleed out but this was nano technology and he didn't really understood how it worked yet. "I got you."

He patted his mentor's back, watching him carefully in case he collapsed.

"I'm okay," Mr. Stark muttered for Peter's benefit.

He could stand. He could walk.

Maybe Peter had panicked for nothing. This was a man who had taken a missile to space and made it back. This was a man who had fought Chitauri aliens, drones and robots.

He figured they might still get out of this yet.

He looked around him. The doughnut spaceship they came in was destroyed. Still, Mr. Stark would figure out a way to get them home. If anyone could, it would be him. Mr. Stark had never let Peter down. He always got him back to May.

Or, Peter began to smile, maybe Dr. Strange could open a portal straight to New York for them.

That would be insane. It would be something to tell May about. It would be a hell of a story for Ned.

* * *

 _I just wanted to write a story from the point of view of a young boy who must have been constantly worried about the life and safety of the man he looked up to and a man he had grown to care. Peter must have been afraid on Titan, if it wasn't for himself the it must have been for someone else._

 _At the end, I also wanted to show how children sometimes think of their parents as invincible? Even if Peter of all people should know better that that is not true but we tend to cling to a somewhat childlike innocence during pressured time._

 _So let me know what you think!_


End file.
